Apart from a spell as a refugee in Pakistan, Ahdyar has never travelled abroad, but she and Afghan male sprinter Masood Azizi (left) are soon due to travel to Malaysia for a five-month training camp before going to China.

Facilities there will be a world away from those in Afghanistan. There is not a single proper running track in the whole country and the pair of Olympians train on a concrete track circling the dusty soccer pitch inside the main stadium. The more basic problem of lack of a good diet also dogs Afghan athletes.

Ahdyar is reluctant to predict how she will perform in Beijing. "I don't want to forecast what will happen to me, but I believe in God and I want God almighty to help me."

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